The Divine Promise to Our Mother, Rachel

Introduction:

According to
tradition, Rachel, our mother,
passed away on the 11th of Cheshvan,
which begins this Wednesday evening.
In this letter, we will discuss a
comforting Divine promise to Rachel
which offers a message of hope for
our people and our mission:

Dear Friends,

Those of us who care
about our people and our universal
mission recognize that we need the
unique contributions of each member
of our people. We therefore feel
pain that many of our brothers and
sisters are lost and have not yet
found their place within Klal
Yisrael - the Community of
Israel. There is a prophecy of
Jeremiah that addresses this pain,
and it is based on a story about our
mother, Rachel. The Torah tells us
that Rachel died during childbirth,
and that she was buried outside of
Bethlehem:

"Thus Rachel died and
was buried on the road to Ephrath,
which is Bethlehem. Jacob set up a
monument over her grave; it is the
monument of Rachel's grave until
today." (Genesis 35:19:20).

Why was she not
buried in the Machpelah Cave in
Hebron where the other patriarchs
and matriarchs of our people are
buried? The Midrash cites a
tradition that Jacob chose to bury
her near Bethlehem, because he
foresaw that his descendants would
pass her burial site as they
journeyed into exile, and that
Rachel's soul would pray for them
(Genesis Rabbah 82:10). This
tradition is based on the following
prophecy of Jeremiah:

"A voice is heard on
high, wailing, bitter weeping,
Rachel weeps for her children; she
refuses to be consoled for her
children, for they are gone. Thus
said the Compassionate One: Restrain
your voice from weeping and your
eyes from tears; for there is reward
for your accomplishment, says the
Compassionate One, and they will
return from the enemy's land. There
is hope for your future, spoke the
Compassionate One, and your children
will return to their border."
(Jeremiah 31:14-16)

This prophecy is read
on the second day of Rosh Hashana.
When the survivors of some
concentration camps gathered after
World War II to have their first
Rosh Hashana service in many years,
the Klausenberger Rebbe, himself a
survivor of the camps, addressed the
group. He discussed the above
prophecy of Jeremiah with his
brethren, and he cited the tradition
that the promise "they will return
from their enemy's land" is
referring to liberation from
"physical" exile, while the promise
that "your children will return to
their border" is referring to
liberation from "spiritual" exile. (The
Klausenberger Rebbe - The War Years,by Aharon Surasky)

Rabbi Samson Raphael
Hirsch, a noted biblical
commentator, also interprets the
promise that "your children will
return to their border" as referring
to a return from spiritual exile.
Rabbi Hirsch explains that the exile
resulted from the people's
abandonment of the Divine Covenant;
thus, Rachel is weeping for her
children who have become estranged
from the Compassionate One. Even if
her children are prosperous in the
lands of their dispersion, Rachel
still weeps for them, as long as
they are alienated from their
Source. The Compassionate One
therefore comforts Rachel by
promising her, "there is hope for
your future," as her lost children
will eventually return to their
"border" - their spiritual home. The
ingathering of our dispersed
people will therefore be a
spiritual, as well as a physical
ingathering. (Commentary on the
Haftorah for the Second Day of Rosh
Hashana)

"Bring us back to
you, O Compassionate One, and we
shall return, renew our days as of
old." (Lamentations 5:21)

Much Shalom,

Yosef Ben Shlomo
Hakohen (See below)

Related Comments:

There are young
children of Rachel who would like to
rediscover their heritage by going
to a Torah day school, but their
parents cannot afford the tuition. I
myself was one of those children;
however, the day school I wanted to
attend was able to get funds from
contributors to help pay for my
tuition. As a result, my parents
only had to pay a small monthly fee,
and I began to study at HILI - the
Hebrew Institute of Long Island - at
age 10.

I therefore want to
share with you information about a
phone company in the United States
which was started in order to raise
funds which would enable Jewish
children from low-income families to
attend Torah day schools. All the
profits from this company go towards
this great mitzvah! For information
about the company, call 1.800
CUCUMBER, or visit:
www.cucumber.com